‘Conversion is a complex and emotionally charged issue. Fundamentalists exploit it, liberals complicate it, many do not comprehend what the fuss is about, and others shy away from getting involved.’

In today’s pluri-religious society, change of faith can precipitate religious antagonism--or it can facilitate social diversity and tolerance. While religious commitment is essentially a matter of personal conscience and choice, it inevitably impacts other levels of individual and social life.

Author Rudolf C. Heredia is a Jesuit sociologist who, with his long experience of working with marginalized communities, shows how mass conversions have alienated people from their past traditions and lived beliefs.

Challenging the traditional orthodoxies which promote or oppose religious conversions, the author sees no religious merit in political posturing or conversion for socio-economic gain. Instead, to defuse tensions, he advocates rethinking religious conversion in India with a determined religious disarmament, discarding aggression.

Here is a provocative writer who, remaining anchored firmly in his faith, challenges us to seek a common ground for tolerance and dialogue, premised on a constructive interaction with other faith traditions.